The Report Card issues grades A through F, and incompletes where necessary, to a variety of news items in this space. Got an idea that makes the grade? Email cblake@citizentimes.com.

B to the North Carolina Department of Transportation for finally paying attention to its own data. The department had been insisting that Interstate 240 should be widened to eight lanes through West Asheville, which would have disrupted the neighborhood. DOT held to this view even though its own traffic projections showed that only six lanes were needed. Last week, DOT finally conceded that six was enough. Nothing is going to happen for a decade, which is just as well considering that changes in driving habits might make even six lanes unnecessary.

F to the violence that took the short life of Lavar Ahkeem Bailey. We first heard of Bailey when the Citizen-Times told in 2014 of how he and his partner had to juggle jobs and parenting their children while living in a homeless shelter because their fast-food jobs paid too little to afford housing. Last Saturday night Bailey was found fatally shot at Pisgah View Apartments, where the family found housing after more than a year in the shelter. It was the fourth shooting and second fatality of the year at Pisgah View. Bailey was 28.

A to the news that Mountain BizWorks is back on track after a financial crunch triggered by loss of an expected grant nearly wiped it out in 2013. The nonprofit, which gives loans and training to small businesses, made only $1.5 million in loans in 2014 but more than doubled that amount by 2016, to $3.3 million. This year, it reached that level in seven months. This week, BizWorks announced that it has $2.9 million in federal funding to continue and expand lending. “We have more than recovered,” said Executive Director Patrick Fitzsimmons.

C to the news that Western Carolina University Chancellor David O. Belcher’s brain cancer has recurred. Belcher says he will be able to maintain his WCU duties while undergoing treatment. “I pledge to keep you regularly informed about our progress and to provide you additional updates as we take the next steps in this journey,” he said in an open letter to the community. “My primary aim is that the campus community remain focused on our ambitious agenda of growth and positive momentum.” We wish him all the best.

A to proposed rule changes being considered by state elections officials that would cut down on frivolous voter challenges. The proposal would force protesters to reveal any outside legal help and tell them that filing a false claim is subject to perjury laws and a possible low-grade felony. The form also makes clear it shouldn’t be used to challenge individual voter registrations or irregularities that wouldn’t affect the outcome of an election. Officials were flooded with protests, virtually all of them baseless, after last year’s close gubernatorial election.

F to elimination of state support for legal-aid agencies. The new state budget ended the practice of setting aside $1.50 from each filing fee and repealed the law distributing funds for legal services. Of the $1.1 million that remains, most will go to help represent domestic violence victims for protective orders or child custody matters. Although the legal aid groups have other sources of income, their leaders said the cuts could mean nearly 35 attorneys and staff will be laid off, making several thousand people unable to get help each year.

A to Asheville Green-Works’ Youth Environmental Leadership Program, or YELP, a paid internship program for students with low-income family backgrounds. Interns spend a quarter to half of each day learning from experts from partnerships such as MountainTrue, Anchor QEA, and the National Parks Service, and the rest is spent in some form of environmental service. “It was a great experience and I kinda just fell in love with the nature, I guess,” said Kodi Codrington, 16, who is in the program for a second year.

F to continuing attempts to muzzle the University of North Carolina Center for Civil Rights. A committee in the state university system has approved a rule that would forbid the center from representing clients who pursue cases involving school segregation, equal education rights and environmental justice issues such as a landfill in a poor community. That would be akin to telling medical students they can’t work in hospitals or agricultural students they can’t work on farms. It comes off as a blatant attempt to make it harder for the powerless to be heard.